Saint Mary’s College has added an NCAA Division I outdoor men’s and women’s track program effective for the 2012 spring season, athletic director Mark Orr announced Tuesday.

The program will focus on middle- and long-distance events with an emphasis on providing year-round training opportunities.

“This is a major boost to our program,” coach Marty Kinsey said. “The support provided to the cross country program over the past few years has been tremendous, and we are getting closer and closer to being on equal footing with the rest of the West Coast Conference.”

Stephen Piscotty (Amador Valley-Pleasanton) hit a two-run homer in the top of 11th, lifting No. 2 Stanford (4-0) to a 9-7 win over host Pacific (0-4). Tyler Gaffney reached base five times, going 3 for 4 with two hit by pitches and three runs, and Piscotty drove in three.

The Santa Clara (4-0) baseball team defeated host Cal Poly (3-1) 5-2. Left-hander Powell Fansler (2-0) started and gave up two runs and two hits in five innings. .

The UC Davis-San Jose State baseball game was suspended because of darkness with the score 3-3 heading to the 12th. The game will tentatively resume March 17, when UC Davis returns to San Jose for a three-game series March 16-18.

Stanford freshman Kristian Ipsen (De La Salle High) failed to qualify for the semifinals after finishing 24th at the World Cup in the 3-meter at London’s Aquatics Center. The U.S. did secure another spot for the Olympics with fellow American Chris Colwill’s ninth-place prelim finish. Ipsen finished with 402.3 points, and Colwill had 444.55 points.

Santa Clara (1-10) lost its softball home opener 3-2 to UC Davis (4-8). Breezy Bernard hit a game-tying double in the fourth, and Stephanie Fisher had an inside the park home run in the fifth for the Broncos.

Cal’s Valerie Arioto (Foothill High-Pleasanton) earned her second straight Pac-12 softball Player of the Week award after batting .857 with four home runs and nine RBI as the Bears swept four games at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Classic. Arioto had a 2.714 slugging percentage for the four games.

Cal junior water polo player Breda Vosters has been named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation KAP 7 Player of the Week.

Soccer

Three Bay Area players were named to the U.S. women’s under-20 team that opens the CONCACAF regional qualifying tournament March 2 in Panama. The finalists and winner of the third-place game will advance to the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan.

Coach Steve Sampson called up defender Stephanie Amack of Dougherty Valley High of San Ramon, midfielder Julie Johnston of Santa Clara University and striker Chi Ubogagu, who helped Stanford win its first NCAA title last year.

AFL

The SaberCats signed 10-year Arena Football League veteran quarterback Raymond Philyaw. Philyaw spent the 2011 season as the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans VooDoo. He last played for the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings in 2010.

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